A recent study by PwC revealed that only two of the UK's 100 largest listed companies mentioned "Natural Capital" in their annual reports[1]. There are a number of definitions of Natural Capital. Some distinguish between ecosystems, ecosystem services, biodiversity and natural resources but broadly a consensus forms around it being an aspect of the natural environment that provides value to people.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a framework for comprehensive corporate social responsibility reporting on environmental, social and governance topics. The latest iteration of the framework, GRI G4, puts stakeholder engagement to determine materiality at the forefront of the reporting methodology.

The non-financial reporting landscape can be crowded and confusing for organisations that are constantly tasked with navigating definitions, timescales and requirements for different reporting channels. Most global organisations report in some way on their non-financial performance, strategy and vision, whether it’s through mandated legislation, voluntary schemes, social media or direct communication with stakeholders. But as the pressure increases on organisations to report more information, to more stakeholders, in a more accurate way, more often, it’s understandable that it can get a little overwhelming.

When it comes to managing relationships with suppliers, businesses are under increasing pressure. Why has this come about? Partially it’s because of evolving standards and legislative requirements related to human rights, social inequality and safeguards for consumers (amongst other factors). These require businesses to be proactive with their suppliers, to ensure compliance.

Alongside this, there is a rising numbers of online commentators, who are using social media, blogging and video to highlight any apparent success or otherwise. While businesses were once less visible, this modern network of influencers means the need for transparency is growing. Now, more than ever, organisations need to understand how the expectations of supplier management are changing, so they can meet and exceed them.

The influence of environmental factors on supplier relationships

The latest version of SupplierPortal is going live in September. We have drawn on our wide experience of the market and our clients’ use of the portal to create an even more comprehensive solution for managing the day to day challenges of supplier due diligence.

Using the latest analytical technologies, the user interface has been carefully enhanced to accommodate all the new functionality without compromising our renowned, easy-to-use approach, to the Buyer and Supplier user experience.

Nearly three months have passed since the submission deadline for U.S. listed companies’ conflict minerals reports, and the results have been disappointing. Although over 1,200 companies managed to file reports prior to the deadline, a large proportion failed to comply with the ruling through omissions of mandatory items.

Greenstone SupplierPortal is a flexible, scalable, easy to use tool that enables the efficient collection of Supplier data and provides a suite of Buyer analytics to monitor compliance, performance and minimise risk. It enables suppliers and buyers to share data through a secure online solution, enabling buyers to focus on monitoring and identifying potential areas of risk and undertaking in-depth supplier analysis, rather than simple data gathering. The Portal includes customisable Buyer features, for example: questionnaires, scorecards, flags, group comparisons and benchmarks.